Procrastination and Pillowcases

I took a day off from the quilt today... I know, I know, that's how procrastination starts. The next thing you know I will get involved with another project and the fish quilt will get pushed aside, then things will get piled on top of it and in no time at all it will make it to the bottom of the pile and be forgotten. I promise that won't happen... REALLY!

And do you know why that won't happen???? Because one of you (THANKS Sassy) emailed me with a FANTASTIC suggestion and I can't wait to 'get to it'. I'll keep the suggestion a secret for now. In a few days I'll post a picture for you all to see. I'm so excited!!!!!

In the meantime... I took a day or two to sew pillowcases for the MILLION PILLOWCASE CHALLENGE by All People Quilt. Their tutorial on how to sew the pillow case 'burrito' style and have no raw seams is not to be missed. I have used this technique years ago and simply forgot about it. It was nice to view a refresher. Gee... speak about a STASHBUSTER... this challenge is eating away at my fabric stash. Woo! Hoo!

Keep sewing and smiling!

Quilt - Day 1

Seven years ago I came up with the idea for this quilt. Two years ago I bought the fabric. Yesterday the picture and fabric worked it's way to the surface of my craft mess. Let's see how long it actually takes to make it.

7am this morning - Take the fabrics outside in the natural light and 'audition' them. Make sure there is enough contrast. No decision is set in stone... this is just the beginning. I originally chose a mottled blue fabric for the water... much like the picture... but I liked the movement of the swirls in this fabric better.

7:30am - Put all the 'winners' together and walked away. Went inside and ate breakfast... well if you consider a slice of apple pie and a glass of seltzer breakfast. Went back outside and took a look at the choices. Does anything look out of place? No? Good! Enough play time... Put the fabric away and go to work!!

                                                                                    9:00pm - What a mess! Threw it all in the washer and dryer and got ready to iron. I really should have been doing my laundry... but this was way much more fun. I'll dig something out of my closet to wear. I haven't gone to work naked... yet!                    

11:00pm - Ah... doesn't that look pretty? It kind of looks like it did in the beginning... but I know it's all clean, pressed and ready to roll tomorrow. Isn't this a crazy obsession? First we buy fabric, wash it, dry it, iron it all so we can cut it up in pieces just to sew them all back together. Crazy I tell ya... but oh so fun and creative!!

BTW... My Rowenta iron is a snob. It glided smoothly over the good quality quilting fabric... but dragged over the cheap stuff. It's amazing it could tell the difference. And my ironing board? It too is a Rowenta... but the legs aren't straight and it wobbles when I iron. I tried to straighten them out, but the board kept collapsing in the middle of ironing ... so I just put up with the wobble. Very frustrating!! 

Good Night All!!! I'll let you know how far I get the next day I work on the quilt.

Inspiration...

Fishes, Flowers, and Frogs, Oh My!

This painting titled 'Fishes, Flowers, and Frogs, Oh My! is by Pierre H. Matisse... grandson of the famous painter Henri Matisse. I am a HUGE Henri Matisse fan and was THRILLED to see his grandson inherited some of his talent and sense of color. When I saw this picture about 7 years ago I knew IMMEDIATELY that I wanted to make a quilt like this... someday. I was drawn to the clear, bright color combination and the fluid movement of the fish. It reminds me of 2 of my favorite vacation spots... Hawaii and Maine. I downloaded and printed a copy of it as a subtle reminder that one day when things calm down I intend to make a wall-hanging quilt using this picture as my inspiration.

Two years ago the crinkled paper copy surfaced in my craft pile... OK, craft mess. I had forgotten all about it. I was so excited I went right out that very day to select fabrics for the background, fish and lily pads. One day turned into another, the bookstores needed my full attention and so the fabric and picture were pushed aside and eventually lost in a pile in my bedroom closet. Until.... my whole house sale!!! This morning I was mucking out my closet and EUREKA... the most fabulous orange fabric with metallic gold splotches and dots peeked out from the top of a bag. I thought to myself... gee... that would be the perfect choice for a goldfish in that quilt I want to make. Duh!!!! It slowly dawned on me those were the exact words I said when I spied the fabric bolt in Pennington Quiltworks 2 years earlier.  I gleefully plucked the rest of the fabric out of the bag as the picture floated to the floor. Ah.... it was like seeing an old friend. My heart warmed as I broke out in a gigantic smile.

I did a little research on this painting before I started blogging today. I was totally surprised to learn that this painting is offered as a 'limited edition' giclee print, signed and numbered from many sites including... wait for it.... are your ready? Amazon! Of course, I should have known. At least all the sites are listing it for the same price... $800.00! Like we all have that kind of money in our back pockets... geesh! AND... most of the sites are pushing it as a picture to hang in a child's room!! Naturally, MY quilt will be priceless and will hang in a place of honor :-)

Can't you just see it in your mind? With so many new embellishing techniques out there it will be hard to choose which ones to try. Right now I envision machine applique for most of it... maybe with a tulle overlay to make the water more realistic. Embroidery on the flowers and shiny beads... lots of shiny beads. Meandering machine quilting on the water and more leaf like stitching on the lily pads. Oh... I can't wait to get started!!! I'll keep you updated as the project moves along. At least I already own everything I need to get the job done... so there is no reason to delay.

IT'S TIME TO MAKE THIS QUILT!!!